Superman No More
by Jordan Lee Burnes
Summary: Supermans only choice is the one that will make others hurt the most. But is he truly... Superman?


Superman sat on top of the Daily Planet and watched as the sun was going down. He was crying. One of the few times you ever saw a weakness in him. He had saved so many, went through so many hardships to save them… but it was never enough. They would always find a reason to hate him. He could not condemn these people for their feelings, but he could neither reward them. He was a hero by choice, of his own free will, but never had people found such greater fault in a man. They hated him for his power, his ability that others did not possess, they were jealous. And now he was sitting atop the only place he actually felt at home, even though Louis had already passed… cancer.

"Superman come down and give yourself up, we do not want to resort to violence."

The people below weren't using a loud speaker, but Superman could hear them, and they knew it. Many seconds passed before they retaliated, a shell of hard iron flying strait towards him. It came faster until it was present against his torso and then exploded, knocking Superman from his resting place atop of the Daily Planet. He looked at his body as he now floated in the air, not a scratch. He had protected these people for so long, but not any more.

He calmly floated down and touched the ground.

"Tell me. How many times have I saved this city… how many times would you have died if I would not have been there… How many times!"

Superman yelled as he conveyed his message, making many people cringe, and blowing out the windshields of many police cars. Now lead started to fly at him, bouncing off his body as if harmless grains of sand. He could not take this anymore, no longer would he serve these people, they did not deserve to be saved any longer.

Superman pounded both fists into the ground and grabbed the concrete road. He lifted and brought much of it with him; police cars and tanks flying everywhere. He had the slab over his head and threw it at the people remaining in the vicinity. Many died, and they all were crying… they were in chaos.

Scurrying about as if they had just had a nuclear war, Superman watched in disgust, trying to make sense of all those years of service for these people. He was no longer a man, nor would he ever be again… He was the last of his kind, and would show everybody his true power… No longer would he be made a fool off, no longer would he serve as this earth's protector, he would no longer succumb to those of the such as Batman and Wonder woman. Never again… never again.

Superman bent into a crouch and then sprang up, leaving ripples in the earth. He was flying as fast as a bullet toward the sun. Faster and faster he flew, passing up Venus and Mercury coming face first into the sun, harnessing all its power and not caring of his suit that was melting off his body… he no longer needed it, he was no longer… human. It was time to show them his real power, it was time to make them hate for a reason.

Superman's muscles bulged as if about to rip once he had harnessed his power from the sun. He closed his eyes to revel in all his present power, and then he opened them. Now, faster than a bullet, faster than sound, faster than light, superman plunged toward the earth. He was heading toward Washington D.C., toward the White House. They never saw it coming. As he imploded onto the building it sent out a shock wave covering over 500 miles, killing those within 100, and ravishing the land beyond. The only person he had saved from this catastrophe was the leader of this so called great nation. He wanted to look him in his eyes before he had killed him. And like all the rest they were terrified eyes. Now as he held him in his hand off the ground by his neck. He saw that he was no different as a leader; he was like all the rest. Superman tightened his hold around his neck and gave way at the snap.

He had just ruined this country beyond the point of retaliation, but he wanted to make them suffer… he wanted to destroy them all. The other supers were not about to get in his way. This was his mission, and he would finish it.

*****

Superman was now back in Metropolis, destroying everything. There would be no other way to describe it. Buildings fell at the red light that cut through them, people yelled as they were hit by cars, trees, and other rubble, and many others pleaded as they felt an icy chill creep up their leg and to their back, paralyzing them forever into a sleep that they would never wake up from.

He was invincible, he would never stop. Then he heard a humming noise coming at him from a hundred miles away. He knew that this was inevitable, he had already accepted it. As the buzz came closer Superman turned and swung his hand out, sending Flash flying into another building, falling that as well. Others had come also. The Green Lantern had a large green sack thrown over his back, and inside were many others; Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, and Plastic Man. Hal released the bag and let the other heroes fall upon the ground, then Wonder Woman spoke.

"Kal-El what are you doing! Look what you have done! You must stop this now."

"No Diana… I must never stop. For too long have I been these people's slaves, for too long have I saved these people, and for too long have I been hated for it all, wrongfully hated for my good doing. Well, no more shall I ever succumb to these humans again. Never again shall I ever lift a finger to help them. They must pay for what they have done. And I will make them"

Diana looked away, for she knew what he said was true, but never would she succumb to such madness, she would never turn into a monster as he had… it was wrong, and that was the only reason for it. She turned and walked away, tears in her eyes, she could not fight him. It was Batman's turn.

"Clark… You need to stop, stop and think. Everything you said was true, but this is wrong and you know it. Just stop and think, you don't have to do this anymore Clark."

Superman's eyes started to redden, and his muscles started to bulge on his neck.

"My name is not Clark! I am not longer human!"

Superman ran up to Batman and wrapped his arms around him, he was ready to break him in half with no remorse, but he couldn't. Sweat started to bead up on Superman's forehead, and he looked down at Batman's neck. On it was a chain; on that chain was a small piece of kryptonite. It was time to leave. As fast as he could Superman ran from Batman, the others now pursuing him. He felt a sharp pain in his back as he fell to the ground and looked up at Green Lantern with a green boomerang in his hand. He had to get out of here.

Right below him was a sewage pipe with a lead covering. He lifted it, and narrowly escaped plastic man's stretching grasp, and even now under the lead pipe he could not escape the Martian Manhunter's constant pleads inside his head _you are not this person_, but now he had his power back. He flew up threw the road and caught on to someone as he flew up out of the atmosphere. He looked down and saw Robin in his hands. He held tight as Green Lantern struggled to keep up, not nearly flying as fast as him, and soon he was out of the atmosphere with the sun gleaming on his back and Robin struggling for air. Then he dove back down, swatting Green lantern out of the way as flew. He held Robin in the front of him and was now close to the ground, close enough for Green Arrow to get a shot, and the arrow flew true, creating a web of sticky material around Superman, but he broke out of it, as if wiping away a cobweb. Then he hit the ground.

The shockwave sent nearby buildings falling and all the heroes flew back. As the dust cleared the picture of Superman's form standing over Robins broken body was present to those heroes who had survived; Plastic Man, and Batman.

Superman looked at both of them, Plastic Man had tears in his eyes, not being able to bear what he had just seen, but Batman was looking straight at him, as if nothing happened. He was the only person on this earth that Superman had found to be a friend, but now as he sat there staring at him it made him suffer more than if he had slowly killed himself. As fast as a bullet he flew straightforward into Batman's chest. As every second passed before the impact, Batman kept perfectly still and stared strait into Superman's eyes, and at the end, a tear did fall, not from pain of death, but pain of emotion.

Now on the side of a wall, dead and broken, Batman's hand went limp and a small piece of paper fell from it. Superman picked it up and read from it as follows _Now I know what it truly means to be a hero_… Superman crumbled up the piece of paper and gritted his teeth. He flew his hands up over his head and pounded them into the broken form of Batman, tears flying from his eyes as he did. Plastic Man just looked on in dismay, not daring to interfere, and to scared to say a word.

Superman pounded into Batman for what seemed like forever, and once he stopped he no longer knew the form that lay beneath him. He looked back at plastic man, tears still flowing from his eyes, and took off. He flew up, and up, all the way into the sun. Screaming as he felt the power course threw his veins, opening his fingers to the power that greeted them and finally opening his eyes to the long charge. He slowly floated out from the large star and looked at the earth. His eyes glowed red and the beam of death left them and started to sweep the face of the earth. They hit buildings which fell, people which screamed, and bombs which exploded, causing even more damage. He had now cleansed the face of the earth and he no longer was crying, he had turned that feeling of sadness into hate, and he flew down to see the destruction he had just caused.

*****

Only two feet now trudged the barren landscape that had been know as Earth. Superman was walking around and looking at all the destruction he had caused. They had learned, ever single person on the face of this earth had learned, no longer would they hate him, no longer would they laugh at him. Then as if a foreign noise from a foreign world, he heard crying. It was coming from underneath an indescribable burnt piece of metal. Superman went over and lifted it. Underneath was a baby, not a year old, balling its head off wrapped in a small cloth. Superman's knees gave and he fell to the ground. Tears started to fall from his eyes and he started to realize; now he knew why he saved all those people, now he knew why time after time he had been their protector, he was no longer Superman… He was Clark Kent.

"What have I done?"


End file.
